The Hidden
by Leech101
Summary: Set a short while after the virus, basically a prequel. It focuses on a different tribe in a different city. Daniel has returned to his old home to find it in ruin. Rated T just in case. Please Review, I'd love some feedback.
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Dan walked through the streets he once knew so well, he hardly recognised them any more. They were cracked and broken, covered in flaming cars and graffiti everywhere. He sighed, biting back the tears. He and all the other children had been evacuated and returned to this, wreckage. After the virus things had seemed to reverse. Years of hard work and evolution unravelled and sent all of them back to the dark ages. Where they roamed the streets in "Tribes" trying to kill each other and obtain power.

Well, Dan thought to himself, they're welcome to their power over this tip. A few months ago and he might have joined them, bully his way to the top like he'd used to in school, but, so much had changed and he didn't have the spirit to cause anymore chaos.

A whimper sounded from his side and he looked down at his trusty mutt, Dragoon. A loyal German Sheppard he'd used to intimidate others, though he knew Dragoon wouldn't hurt a fly. They'd run away from this madness and the disease a while back, but, Danny was done with running, he wanted to face what had happened; no matter how much he hated it. He had abandoned so much and tried to leave it all behind, but, he couldn't. This was the world now.

He gently patted his faithful companion's head and they carried on into the darkness of the city he'd once called home.


	2. A Narrow Escape

**Okay, I know so far it's not been connected to the original series, and I'm not saying it's going to be, but, I threw in an extra bit at the end to give you a bit more appetite.**

He walked calmly along the streets, not a sound. The powerfully built dog striding alongside him was just a quiet. He glanced around; his big green eyes scanning his surroundings suspiciously and they world seemed to hold baited breath.

It was too quiet, Dan knew it, and even Dragoon knew it. The pair of them made quite a site, Dan in his brown combat jeans, black top, forest camouflage jacket, and dark brown buzz-cut hair looked like he'd just stepped out an old war movie. While Dragoon his menacing canine could only whimper and cower behind him. The sound of footsteps drew nearer and nearer.

Dan glanced round nervously, he could swear he spotted a figure up on the roof of a building, but, when he glanced back, it had vanished! Dan knew what was going on, he was being hunted.

He'd have to lose them, whoever they were. He stepped into the shadows, Dragoon obediently following. Dan ran swiftly and silently under cover, all the while wondering where his invisible enemy was. He leaned down to Dragoon and whispered in his ear, "Where are they, boy?"

Dragoon seemed to understand and glanced behind them and to the right, holding back whimpers of fear. Dan patted his dog on the side, "Good boy."

He'd have to make a run for it, seemed that the hunters were behind him and to the right, if he ran left now he had a chance of getting away. It was now or never!

Suddenly, the silence around him seemed to explode in a fury of noise. Dragoon bolted left, but, Dan glanced around, out of hiding places he'd never thought of looking a group of agile children jumped forward. They had blue face-paint under their eyes and on their fore-heads which made them look threatening.

They all carried some sort of light weaponry; from lead pipes to baseball bats, these guys meant business. With a chilling war cry from the leader, a tall, heavily built boy with long brown hair, they sprung into action. They leapt from rooftops to the ground unlike humans, they seemed more savage and animalistic than any other tribe Dan had ever laid eyes on, and they were after him!

He sprung up and pelted down the road to his left, following Dragoon as closely as he could, the blue-faced warriors hot on his heels. He wanted to cry out, but, knew it would be a waste of energy, no one would hear him. He dived down an alleyway after his dog, hoping to lose the devils that pursued him. Dragoon had gone, no sign of him, but, he heard the hunters, closing in all around him, this was it, the end!

A hand reached out from a window of one of the buildings next to him, he reached up and grabbed it, and he struggled to pull himself up onto the narrow ledge of the windowsill. He tried to open the window further, but, it caught on something, he rattled it with all his might, but, it wouldn't budge, his mysterious savoir had gone, but, then a metal pole crashed through the window from the inside, almost knocking Dan off, he grabbed the pole and pulled himself through the broken window.

He stood up and brushed himself off, he had broken glass sticking out of him, but, otherwise he was alive. He looked up to see his rescuer; he was a tall, lean boy with a pointed face. He looked like he'd not eaten for a while and was thinner than Danny remembered him, but, there was no doubt about it, it was Louie, his best friend.

"Louie, I thought you were-" Danny started, but, Louie's smile dropped and he pushed his hand over Dan's mouth to silence him before pointing out of the window.

They looked down in the street below to see the evil hunters below. "Where are they?" belted the powerful leader.

"I'm not sure, Boss." A small child with spiky blonde hair spoke out.

This earned the kid a smack around the ear. "You're not sure!" The Boss cried out, "A man can't vanish into thin air, spread out and find him!"

Danny's heart seemed to speed up, shouting out for all to hear where he was. The small blonde boy was attempting to open the door to the house he and Louie were in, but, by some miracle it seemed he couldn't open it.

"This blasted thing won't open!" The boy called out.

A tall boy with spiky black hair, a pale face and a mean, superior look about him walked over to the boy and planted a hand on his shoulder, "Lewis, if you can't open that door, what makes you think he could?"

Lewis realising his mistake and quickly dashed off to search the house next door; Dan let out a sigh of relief. Louie took his hand away, but, motioned for Dan to stay quiet. "Who are they?" Dan asked.

"They call themselves the Street Panthers. They were formed a few days after you left. You'll want to stay out of their way." Louie whispered, "You shouldn't have come back, this whole place is a war zone! The Street Panthers and the Bloodhounds are fighting for control constantly; if you're not with them they pick you off and hunt you down. Everyone else is just trying to get out of this hell hole."

Dan knew his old friend was right, he should have never returned, "So," he said, "How do we get out?"

Louie sighed before his shaking his head, "We don't. Anyone who's made a run for it has been found dead the next day; we're not going to get out alive!"

Louie realised he was raising his voice and fell silent again, running a hand through his short black hair. He signed before saying, "I'm glad you did come back, now, I've got someone else to help me."

Dan frowned slightly, "Help you with what?"

Louie smiled again, "My own suicide mission, I'm either getting out or I'll die trying!"

Dan smiled back, but, deep down he was saddened. Louie had always been determined, but, it sounded like he was planning to do the impossible. He'd heard of tribes like the Street panthers, delusional nut-jobs with images of power and chaos. He'd only just escaped another tribe like the Street Panthers in a city not to far away, The Locos or something, that's what they'd called themselves. But, these Street panthers were different. They were cold-blooded killers, they planned through they death of their opponent, they didn't parade down the main road in a police car, they were silent and unpredictable, he'd much rather have fared his chances with the Locos.


	3. Farm Trouble

**A word of warning, this part of the story is slightly off track to the other parts, but, it will all connect together sooner or later, you'll see.**

Nate woke up eventually. He didn't want to. He just wanted to lie in bed all day and pretend they were all still here, his mum, his dad and his big brother. But, he knew they were all rotting in some grave somewhere, he shook his head free of those troubling thoughts and tried to sleep again. He groaned as the sunlight crept in through the window and danced across his face. He sighed; no chance of sleep now. He hauled himself up, rubbing his eyes free. He yawned before swivelling his legs out of bed and forcing himself to stand up a face the day. He went into the bathroom and washed his face. Then he heard a bump from downstairs. Could it be people? Maybe the adults were back? No, he shook his head free of his dreams, they were all dead.

That meant thieves, crooks, or raiders! Fear gripped at him sending him into a panic, he grabbed a cricket bat and ran downstairs to find… Will. He nearly laughed; Will had simply rolled off the couch in his sleep and was now splayed face first on the ground. He remembered now, Will had come round yesterday; the raiders had got to his farm.

Life in the country had been tough for everyone, especially for the children who had been left behind to look after the farms. They hadn't a hope really. Raiders would come and steal all their food and supplies; they were just too tempting a target. Will's farm had suffered greatly. They'd come in the night, taking any crops and animals they could cook and eat. Nate sighed; he knew it was only a matter of time before they came for him too.

"Wake up you lazy lump of lard!" Nate said, kicking his friend awake.

Will woke with a start jumping to his feet in shock before regaining his composure and calming down. He grinned, "You know its bad luck to wake a man when he's sleeping."

"Can't get any worse than it already is, besides, I thought you never believed in that superstitious mumbo jumbo." Nate replied.

"I don't, but, it pays to be careful these days, we all need something to believe in" Will explained.

Will was a handsome boy and unlike Nate he was more than happy to spend his days slaving away on a farm, digging up plants and mucking out animals. He was strong and athletic with curly blonde hair and dark blue eyes. But, Nate was handsome as well, in his own way, with his jet black hair and deep blue eyes.

It wasn't that Nate didn't like the country; he loved it very much, all the sights and smells, but, he saw no future in it, he'd always planned to go into the city and start a business, make a name for himself, but, that was not to be. He was stuck here, for now.

After breakfast the two boys decided to get to work, they entered the barn, it was old a covered in dust, but, parked inside was a couple of quad bikes that had belonged to Nate's brother, one was a slim, red one with good handling, but, the bulkier black one was the fastest without a doubt, Nate and Will had never bothered to learn the type of quad bikes they were, what did it matter now anyway. "You pick first, Red or Black?" Nate asked.

Will shook his head and got on the nearest one to him, the black one, Nate had forgotten that his friend was colour-blind, it was hardly ever a problem, but, Nate wasn't in a good mood and had only brought it up to annoy Will, who not only a few minutes ago had stuffed his face with the last of the bread making a large toasted sandwich.

As soon as they left the barn they noticed something wasn't right, the pens were broken down and there was blood on the straw and hay. All the animals were gone, not a sign of them. Some eggs had been dropped onto the ground with total disregard and the fences surrounding the farm had been knocked down and trampled on. The allotment was overturned and the plants that had been happily growing there the day before had obviously been hurriedly and viciously tugged out of the earth.

"No! Not again! We've been robbed in the night!" Will cried.

Nate sighed; he'd expected this day to come, but, not so soon. "What do we do know?" Will said, shaking his head.

Anger, pure and red boiled inside Nate, he shouted out, "We've got to track the people who did this and make them pay!"

"How Nate? You tell me how we're going to find them? And once we find them, then what? Take it all back to be stolen by someone else, face it, we've got to let it go." Will said.

Nate felt deflated, all hope was lost, he felt hard, hot tears roll down his cheeks, the farm was all he had left, and now even that was gone. All was lost.

Nate spent the rest of his time locked up, he didn't want to do anything, and he just lied there and reminisced about way back when he had his mother and father to look after him and his big brother to cheer him up.

Will disrupted his day dream when he walked in with a plate; on it were baked beans and some small carrots they'd managed to salvage from the disaster outside. "Hey, are you alright?" Will asked.

Nate shook his head sadly. "I brought some, food, there's not much left." Will explained.

"I'm not hungry." Nate said.

"You've got to eat." Will replied.

"Why? We're all going to die anyway." Nate muttered.

"Don't talk like that," Will said, taking a seat, "my pa used to say you've got to play the hand you're dealt with. It means we've got to make the most of what we've got."

"Will, you're dad was a drunken old git with gambling debuts, I doubt he was even sober when that nugget of wisdom rolled out of his ungrateful claptrap." Nate replied, sourly.

Will didn't look offended, he just nodded, before smiling again, "We could head into the city, bet they've got plenty of food there!"

"Will they want to share it though?" Nate wondered.

"Maybe not, but seriously think about it. We could go there, we've got skills, and we'd be great handymen. With all the adults gone, there'll be hundreds of city kids needing help doing stuff their parents used to do, and we'd do it if they paid us in food and water and shelter." Will explained.

"Will, you might be able to live your whole life like that, but, I'm not so sure, I'd rather find a place to be settled and be safe." Nate replied.

"Well, it only has to temporary, if we stock up and save what we've got we can walk out of this with enough supplies to last us a lifetime." Will said.

"You are always too optimistic!" Nate smiled, starting to cheer up.

"Well, maybe I'm a fool and maybe this plan is half-baked, but, a plan's a plan. Besides, if you look at history lots of country people went into town's to make there fortune. Like that fellow, what was his name…Dick Turpin?" Will said.

Nate shook his head, "I think Dick Turpin was a highwayman."

Will slapped his forehead, "I mean Dick Whittington!"

Nate nodded before saying, "But, we shouldn't rule out Mr. Turpin just yet, it may not be nice, but, if plan A fails, we might have to think about some crime."

"But, that'd make us as bad as those crooks that took our crops." Will said, frowning.

"I know, but, hook might come to crook, it's a dangerous world out there, we have to be careful. I don't like the thought of causing someone harm either, let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Nate explained.

Will nodded, before giving one of his winning smiles that seemed to suck the darkness right out of the air, "Well then, let's start packing!"

**This story could take longer than I planned; I find it hard to write long chapters so I might have to do some smaller ones. I'm writing a lot to make up for lost time and please hang on a bit longer; the good bits are still to come.**


	4. Todd

"You're insane!" Danny cried.

Louie quickly shushed him, and they glanced out the window to check no Street Panthers were nearby. Dan had spent the last few minutes listening to Louie's mad-cap plan which was basically to hope there where no Street Panthers around and make a desperate run for woods outside the city. "It's not logical; we need a much better plan than that load of garbage!" Dan exclaimed.

"Well, if you have a better plan, please do share it." Louie said.

"We lay low, find a place to shelter, stock up on food and water then keep heavy surveillance on any possible threats, get used to their routine, see if there are any patterns, plot the safest route and finally we move when the time is right." Danny suggested.

Louie sighed, "You always were the man with a plan, weren't you Danny?"

Danny nodded, hoping his old friend would listen to reason, so they could move out of the ransacked and burnt shack they were squatting in. "It makes sense Danny," Louie continued, "But, I've been stuck here for so long, you don't know how tough it's been. I've tried everything, took things slow and steady, all that I've achieved is to lose George to a Bloodhound patrol, I'm telling you, these are no playground bullies, these guys are like military units, it's impossible to beat them!"

Danny sighed, George had been another old friend, together the trio had ruled the school, but, he had no heart for bulling left, he just wanted to help who he could, it might be too late for George, but, he was certain there were others.

Danny sat there thinking about the two rival tribes, he admired the leaders of these gangs, and the fact that they inspired loyalty and respect or at least enough fear to turn everyday kids into an efficient military force. Finally Danny spoke, "Nothing's impossible; I'm still alive aren't I? I slipped through their net, thanks to you."

"True, but, who's going to protect us? Well, Danny? Who's got our back? There are only two of us and I'm desperate to get out, so would you if you'd been here as long as I have!" Louie explained.

"Well then," Danny mused, "that means everyone else is in the same boat."

"Huh?" Louie said, a look of confusion spreading across his pale face.

"Think about it," Danny explained, "If everyone here is just as desperate as you, then I'm sure they'd be willing to lend a hand."

"I'm not sure, Danny." Louie said.

"It has to be worth a try, hasn't it?" Danny asked.

Suddenly a voice spoke from out of the shadows, "I agree."

Danny and Louie leapt to their feet in fright and assumed fighting stances; they were being watched by a stranger, who'd been their all along. Out of the shadows stepped a young boy, he could only be a few years younger than themselves. He looked almost as thin and pale as Louie, but, he had mischievous, intelligent grey eyes that peeked out from underneath his fringe that was part of his thick, shaggy brown hair. He wore a simple grey shirt and dark blue jeans, he also had a black jacket that seemed too big for him and around his neck was a cord of black string and on the end was a dark black claw. "I didn't mean to frighten you." He chuckled.

"I wasn't scared." Louie lied, dropping his aggressive pose.

Danny stayed cautious, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I apologise," he said, "for dropping in unannounced, my name is Todd, and this is my humble abode or what's left of it. I fear all my provisions are gone, so I've nothing to offer you."

Danny eyed up the boy warily, he looked honest enough, but, it seemed as if a sneaky smile was constantly playing behind his shining grey eyes, Danny spoke "Okay, it's obvious you're planning something and besides you still haven't answered my question… what do you want?"

"I simply wish to be of use to someone. My life has taken a turn for the worse, I've no food or water and I can't stay here, I want out as much as you two. But, I've no way of doing it, I agree with you, Danny, that with some help we have a better chance. United we stand, alone we fall." Todd explained.

"I don't trust him." Danny whispered to Louie, "is it possible he's a spy for these Street Panthers?"

Louie replied confidently, "Don't be ridiculous, if he was he'd have killed us already, besides it's nice to see a friendly face and he seems truly willing to help us."

Todd continued, "I know some worthy candidates for this group of ours."

"Wait a second," Danny interjected, "we said nothing about a group, we just need a few useful people who have knowledge of the city and some skills that can help us escape. We're not starting a tribe or anything."

"I never said we were," Todd replied, that sneaky smile playing on his lips once more, "we will gather back here as soon as I can."

"Um, how many people are we talking about?" Louie asked.

"Oh, only a couple." Todd said; a mischievous grin now spread wide across his face.

Half an hour later the house was full with six other people. "I thought you said there would only be a couple of them!" Louie exclaimed.

The children Todd had gathered where all his age of younger. "Sorry, I was only planning on bringing a few, but I found a load of strays and it wasn't in my heart to leave them all alone." Todd lied.

Danny saw now that as soon as he'd been pulled through that window, Todd had been directing him towards looking after this bunch of misfits.

"Look, we've got to be harsh, only those that are useful can stay." Louie declared.

Muttering arose from the group, "I disagree!" shouted a small child, he had short ginger hair and a freckled face his eyes where bright green and when his gaze was on you it seemed his eyes were boring into your very soul, "we are all useful, some more at some things than most and some less at different things, but, more at those yet to be thought of."

"Who's that nutcase?" Louie asked.

"That's Jonathan." Todd said.

"Is he always like that?" Danny asked.

"Indeed." Todd replied.

"Well, what does he mean anyway?" Louie wondered.

"He means that everyone's good at different things and someone could be good at something we haven't thought of yet." Danny explained.

"You have to admit, he has a point." Todd said.

"Alright, maybe he does, but, we can't all stay here." Danny cried.

He felt someone tug on his sleeve he spun round to see a boy, not much younger than Todd, he had a thin face and scruffy black hair, "I know a place, it's really secret, and I doubt anyone else knows it even exists." He said.

"Can you take us there, Zach?" Todd asked.

He nodded and dashed out the door and the small troop of children followed, keeping watchful eyes out for enemy tribes.


	5. Knock Out

Nate and Will packed and left quietly, they took two large backpacks weighed down with food and other supplies. They walked calmly and silently to the quad bikes. All the desperate and grief-stricken feelings had left and Nate didn't even want to bother saying good-bye to his old home, it had caused him nothing but pain. Nate looked over at his best friend, he nodded, and they started up their engines and sped through the old barn doors into the distance.

They drove on for miles and miles and miles. They didn't stop, they didn't talk they just kept on driving, but inevitably, the engines spluttered and died. "Now what do we do?" Will pondered.

"One of us will have to find some fuel." Nate replied.

"I know that, but, how?" Will asked.

"Right, you stay here and protect the bikes and I'll head out in that direction and see if I can find another farm with some spare fuel." Nate reasoned.

"Sounds alright, but, isn't that stealing? Like the Raiders?" Will questioned.

"No, I'll ask politely." Nate said sarcastically.

As he walked away Nate knew that he wouldn't get anything out here for free, unless he had something to pay with and Will should realise that too, the sooner the better. As unkind as it was they'd have to turn to theft, he knew it. He hadn't seen any other farms on the way in so he suspected there had to be one due to turn up sooner or later on good terrain like this. And sure enough he spotted a little cottage surrounded by some empty animal pens and fences.

He looked out at it and once he decided it was empty he strolled up to the gate and flung it open. Causally opening the battered front door and just as he stepped inside something smacked him in the head and his vision was blacked out.

Meanwhile, in the small road, surrounded on either side by the woods, Will was getting nervous, he tried to remain calm and optimistic, but, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. He glanced around, he couldn't see anyone. Wait, what was that? Something had moved behind that tree, he shook the thought clear, he was being paranoid it was probably just a squirrel. He took deep breaths to relax; Nate had been taking an awfully long time. He hoped he'd hurry back.

Hang on, something was definitely moving there. Will grabbed a baseball bat off the back of one of the quad bikes and approached it; he walked slowly and carefully across the ground. He thought he could hear himself breathing heavily, so he held his breath, but, the breathing continued, there was definitely something big behind that tree. He tightened his grip on the bat, and he prepared to whack the creature behind the trunk with all his might, but, he was suddenly distracted by a rustling to his right, he spun to face it, and the woods seemed to explode into colour he tried to duck as something flied towards him, but, he felt the impact and the grey world he could see around him seemed to get darker as he hit the ground.

Nate's eyes flickered open, the bright mid-day sun was stinging his eyes and he felt a small bump on his head, he tried to stand up, but, realised his wrists were tied to the table legs next to him, he looked around the quaint little kitchen and soon spotted his attacker, a girl, his age, tall and beautiful with long blonde hair, she was clutching a saucepan as a weapon.

"You crook!" She shrieked, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your miserable life right now!"

Nate quickly tried to scan his groggy mind for the reason he was here, but, his mind was still clouded and he couldn't think straight, "What did I do?" he croaked, his throat was dry and he was dizzy.

"You came for the rest didn't you?" the girl cried defiantly, "You and your friends came in the night and took everything outside, but, you couldn't get in, so, you gave it another try didn't you!"

"No," Nate replied.

"Really, then why are you here?" She asked her voice steadying.

Nate sighed, he had thought no one was here, if they weren't it wouldn't really count as a crime, but, he decided honesty would be a more sensible route from here on in. He answered, "Me and my friend have left our farms and were headed into the city, our vehicles had broken down and I came in here to try and find some fuel."

She laughed and shook her head, "You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, it's the truth." Nate said, staring her in the eyes, matching her defiance, his head clearing.

"I have some fuel in the back, what can you give me for it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Not much," Nate explained, "I can offer a free ride into the city."

"I'm quite fine how I am thank you!" she declared.

"Really?" Nate's sarcasm leaked out, "You have fortified yourself in your own home and the Raiders could come back at any time to take the rest, you're obviously doing very well for yourself."

She scowled, but, eventually her face softened, she knew it was the truth. "Fine, I'll come along." She said reluctantly.

She carefully untied Nate, "No funny business or I'll thwack you again. What's your name anyhow?"

"I'm Nate; I'm travelling with my friend Will, who has managed to convince me to join in him in going to the city to seek our fortune."

"Nice to meet you Nate, I'm Emma." she said, dropping the frosty look on her face for a warm smile that made Nate's heart leap, he hoped he had found another ally in this harsh world.

A few minutes later they were walking down to the wood road. Emma had a backpack full with food and supplies and they were carrying a heavy can of fuel between them, "Sorry about hitting you." Emma said nervously.

"It's okay, I should have knocked first." He said.

They laughed before they descended into an awkward silence, Emma suddenly dropped her backpack and started to rustle through it, "What are you doing?" Nate asked curiously.

Emma produced a first aid kit from the bag and took out a bit of cloth, she motioned for Nate to sit down next to her, and she started to dab at his forehead with the cloth, "This should help, I think, I've only ever treated animals."

"That's okay," Nate said, "but, we'd better move, Will's going to be worried."

She nodded, packed up the first aid kit and gave Nate a heart-warming smile before they continued.

But, when they got to the road they didn't find what they were expecting, it was empty, except for one figure, which was lying on the ground, his backpack missing and he had blood on his head.

Nate and Emma rushed down, as they came closer Nate cried out, "It's Will, oh my god he's dead!"

Once they reached him, they saw that he had suffered a blow to the head and his forehead was already covered in blood. Nate felt like crying out, the Raiders must have come and murdered him! Emma was taking his pulse.

"He's not dead; he's alive! Be careful, we don't want to cause him anymore pain." Emma cried with relief.

"Will, wake up buddy." Nate said, cradling his friend in his arms.

Will's eyelids fluttered and he weakly woke up, "Raiders." He said.

Emma grabbed the first aid kit and examined Will's wound. "You're lucky, it's not too bad, nothing's broken but, I'll have to bandage it up." Emma explained.

"Who's your lady friend?" Will said, weakly raising an eyebrow towards Nate.

"I'm Emma." Emma said before Nate had a chance to speak, she was now cleaning the wound.

"She did this to me." Nate said, pointing to the red bump on his head.

"You make quite a pair; you've both managed to sustain a head injury So much for you two looking after me." Emma said, finishing off bandaging Will's head.

"They jumped me and took the bikes and the supplies, all we've got left is the supplies you two have got." Will explained.

Will tried to stand up, but, Emma lowered him back down. "You have to rest now, we can move later." Emma said.

"I think you should listen to her." Nate said.

"Sorry," Will said, forcing his way up again, "but, the sooner I'm out of these woods the easy it'll be for me to get some rest."

"We can rest at my place, that's not too far away." Emma decided.

"What about the Raiders?" Nate whispered to her, not wanting to worry his friend.

"I'm sure that you and I can defend it for one more night." Emma whispered back.

Nate nodded, but, he looked back at his friend and seriously doubted that they'd last very long.


	6. One Big Happy Family

The children followed Zach as if the small boy were the pied piper, except without the music. He took turns, left and right, eventually arriving at a big important building, Danny remembered it used to hold some significant political value before the virus, but, none of that mattered now. "Is this it? We came all this way for this?" Louie cried in dismay.

Zach signalled Louie to be silent; he shook his head and walked round the back and up to a huge brick wall with barbed wire on top, Zach cupped his hands together and gave another boy a leg up, they carefully made their way over the wall, avoiding the barbed wire as well as they could.

Once they were in the garden Zach headed down towards the bottom, the children followed eagerly, they came to a huge thorn bush and they watched in confused fascination as Zach clambered into it. "What on earth does he think he's doing?"A tall, handsome blonde boy called Max sneered.

Another boy with sandy brown hair called Sam shrugged and gave a cheesy grin, everyone wished he hadn't. The state of his teeth were sickening, those that weren't missing were black, brown or a pale yellow.

Sam dived into the bush and a short gasp was heard, "You guys have got to see this!"

One by one the group carefully climbed through the brambles, Danny went last, carefully dodging thorns; he found were everyone was disappearing to, a couple of large metal doors sat on the ground, concealed by the thorns. Of course! This must be an underground bunker where the V.I.P.s would have hidden during the virus, as far as he knew, none of the bunkers were ever reached in time and this one was certainly empty. He opened the doors and walked down a long length of dark, creepy tunnel before arriving in a huge wide area fit to fill at least double the numbers they already had. "Welcome to my lair." Zach grinned sheepishly.

Todd patted Zach on the back. "You're a genius! Fancy finding a place like this?" He chuckled.

"There's a load of tinned food in the next room." Zach said pointing to a door.

"How big is this place?" Danny asked.

"There is a kitchen, two bathrooms and loads of rooms full with beds and they cupboards are full to the brim with food!" Zach explained.

"Wow, a man could get used to this." Danny said, watching the other kids explore and call on which rooms they were having.

"Um, Danny, it's only temporary remember, we will be leaving shortly, yeah?" Louie said a hint of concern in his voice.

"Of course." Danny said suddenly, "this'll be our main base of operations."

"Good. Don't get to comfy." Louie warned him.

The others were rushing about happily. "So, this is how it works," said Max, "My buddy Chris and I get the first pick and then you can have whatever you want."

"That doesn't seem fair." Jonathan said.

"What're you going to do about it, nerd?" Max jeered.

His ogre of a friend laughed. Chris was an amusing looking person, his body was that of a strong and healthy athlete, but, his head was small and covered in short brown hair and he constantly had a pair of rimmed glasses perched on his little, thin nose.

"Well," Jonathan answered, unfazed by Max's comment, "I suppose I'll ask nicely before resorting to violence."

"What're you going to do?" Max bellowed, "Hit me with a textbook?"

Before things got out of hand, Todd intervened, "You lot, please calm down, there's no need to fight."

"Why, now we've got this place we don't need the Houdini duo." DJ said. He was a small boy with short, dark buzz-cut hair and small piggy little eyes.

"I agree with him." Sam said, backing up his friend.

Todd looked down on the two youngest members of his group and said. "Look here, I've been working so hard to find someone to help us out, Zach and I found you lot begging on the streets, I give you everything you need; food, water and shelter and you think you can do better?" he cried.

"I agree with Todd, we could use some muscle for security, and those two fit the bill." Tom said. Tom was Todd's age and was DJ's half-brother; Tom had short neat brown hair and a slight agile build.

"Thanks Tom." Todd said.

DJ and Sam stormed off. "You may be able to intimidate them, but, you can't get to me." Max sneered before he and Chris wandered off in the opposite direction.

"What's his problem?" Zach asked.

Tom just shrugged; he turned to Jonathan and said, "Are you alright, Max not giving you any trouble is he?"

"No," Jonathan replied frostily, "But, I can handle him myself."

With that Jonathan headed away too, brushing past Danny and Louie, who walked over to Todd, Tom and Zach. "Why's everyone so grumpy?" Danny asked.

"Oh," Todd grinned, "when you first find them on the streets it's all praise and thanks, but, after about a day the start to treat you like the house maid; you don't live up to expectations and its all evil glares and hurtful remarks."

"Just like one big happy family." Danny sighed.

**I realise no one is reviewing, but, that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. I'll carry on, and trust me this story could take a long time. But, if you have the time please review I'd be thankful for some feedback.**


	7. Don't Ask So Many Questions

**I haven't updated in ages, but I'm back to pester you all again. I know nobody really reads this, but as I've said before, no matter how long it takes me I won't stop!**

Nate and Emma stayed awake all night, desperately looking out for any Raiders, Will lay unconscious behind them, his snoring was so loud it could wake the dead. Emma and Nate hadn't said a word to each other since they'd dragged Will back into the house. They'd kept the lights off so as not to attract attention to themselves and sat on the ground floor armed with a broom and a saucepan.

Emma took a deep breath and broke the silence, "So, what exactly did you two plan on doing in the city?"

"Seeking our fortune, I told you already." Nate said coldly.

Emma frowned, Nate wasn't as cheerful as he had been earlier that day; maybe she should have hit him over the head harder.

"Yes," Emma said, "but, how did you plan on seeking your fortune?"

"Ask Will, he came up with this stupid plan in the first place." Nate muttered.

"If it's so stupid why are you doing it?" Emma asked.

"Don't ask so many questions." Nate said.

Before Emma could react there was a noise outside. "What was that?" Emma asked, cursing herself for asking yet another question.

"I'll check." Nate whispered.

Nate slowly stood up, armed with a just a broom. He slowly peered out of the window. He turned around and said to Emma, "I don't see anyone."

At that exact moment, a brick smashed through the window. The glass shattered into a million pieces and a dark figure started climbing in through the window.

The figure was about the same size of Nate, his silhouette illuminated in the pale moonlight. Nate smashed him over the head with the broom. The figure let out a yelp of surprise; Nate dropped the broom and roughly pushed the figure back out of the window.

Another window was broken somewhere else in the house. Nate looked around desperately for the broom but couldn't find it in the dark; instead he picked up a carving knife and headed in the direction of the noise.

"Nate!" Emma screamed, "What are you doing?"

She didn't get a reply; Nate entered the room next door and Emma could hear Nate fighting someone. She would have gone in to look, but, the dark figure was trying to climb back in through the window, gripping her saucepan tightly she hit him square of the forehead, he shouted in protest as she knocked him out of the window.

Then she noticed it had all gone quiet next door. Outside she heard a Raider shout out, "They're armed, run for it!"

Once she was sure they were gone she quietly moved across the room and carefully opened the door, she saw a trail of blood and immediately feared the worst, but, was relieved to see that Nate was sitting back in one of the arm chairs, shaken, but otherwise fine.

She went over to Nate. "What happened?" She asked.

"Another Raider had got in, big bloke, twice my size. He attacked me, he impaled himself on the knife, and then he dragged himself out the window and called for a retreat." Nate explained.

"Thank you." Emma said quietly.

"What for?" Nate asked.

Emma just smiled and kissed him on the forehead. Nate looked surprised, he looked up at Emma who smiled and said, "Don't ask so many questions."


End file.
